Sidney Crosby propels Penguins past red-hot Capitals

Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust scored and the Penguins ended hot streaks by Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals with a 2-1 victory in Washington on Wednesday night.

The third meeting this season between these longtime rivals featured tight checking, strong goaltending and more than a few punches. Rust broke a 1-1 tie late in the second period with his sixth goal in five games, and the Penguins held off the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Playing in his second game since returning from a lower body injury, Pittsburgh goalie Matt Murray stopped 31 shots.

Ovechkin was held without a goal for the first time in seven games and had his career-high run of games with a point end at 14. Lars Eller scored the lone goal for the Capitals. They had won five in a row.

Avalanche 2, Canadiens 1: Gabriel Landeskog broke a tie 35 seconds into the third period by batting in a goal, Philipp Grubauer stopped 35 shots and host Colorado beat Montreal.

Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist to give him an NHL-leading 58 points. He’s followed by teammate Nathan MacKinnon, who has 55 points after a two-assist evening. Landeskog, the third member of the Avalanche’s high-flying line, scored his team-best 23rd goal.

Carey Price, who stopped 24 shots, came up short in his bid for his 300th career victory.

Briefly: The Sabres placed suspended forward Patrik Berglund on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. Berglund was suspended by Buffalo on Saturday for failing to report to the team for its game at Washington. ... Edmonton forward Jujhar Khaira was suspended for two games without pay by the NHL for cross-checking St. Louis defenseman Vince Dunn in the third period of the Oilers’ 4-1 home loss Tuesday.